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Notes from the Past

Somewei

The girls stared in disbelief at the grieving face of Fujiwara Taro. Their faces had gone white and their jaws bobbed endlessly. Blossom, in particular, was the whitest and most shocked. Sara, Sandy, and John, who were also in the room, looked as equally dismayed as the younger girls. They had sat in silence for what seemed like eternity before Blossom choked out, her voice weak, "And…you're sure? She's been captured?"

Hayate, who was with Taro, sighed heavily. "The girl had taken a handful of slaves alongside her. They managed to breach the palace before someone alerted the entire guard. Miyuki had slipped off to fight Cha-Ching, Cha-Ching, according to the survivor we managed to pick up from the carnage. He saw, apparently, guards drag her off before he passed out. She was alive because she was glaring at Cha-Ching, Cha-Ching as she was carried off, but she did not look well."

Bubbles whimpered out as she covered her mouth with her hands. Her eyes widened as she thought of everything that could happen to the girl. And Miyuki didn't have Chemical X in her, leaving her more vulnerable to being hurt and not heal as quickly as the girls would have. Buttercup, however, had look of rage on her face.

"We don't know if she's still alive," Setsuko continued softly as she placed a gentle hand on Taro's shoulder. Her face grimaced slightly. "And we don't know if she's released any information concerning you girls if she's being tortured. Taro-san's adamant in believing that she won't."

Her voice trailed off, no doubt wanting confirmation from the girls. Buttercup and Bubbles exchanged glances before they turned their gaze to Blossom. Their leader looked distressed by the entire thing and it made sense, seeing as how Blossom was closer to Miyuki than either of them. She exhaled shakily before she glanced up at Setsuko and murmured, "She won't."

Setsuko and Hayate's facial expressions relaxed considerably. John took this time to speak up, "Taro, the girls and I will do everything in our power to rescue her. She does not deserve to be put in such a state. No one does."

"Thank you," the dōjō master mumbled, his eyes downcast.

"Sensei," Blossom suddenly whispered. Taro's eyes flickered over to his student, as did everyone else. Her face was more solemn than it had ever been. "Gomen nasai. I should have done something. It was my responsibility."

Taro frowned. "You have no fault. No fault. Only mine. You have bigger problem to worry about. You focus on that."

The redhead bowed her head lowly and simply mumbled, "Hai."

The video link was terminated and everyone remained in silence. No one moved, fearing what to say, think, or do next. Finally, Blossom jumped to her feet and left the room. Ms. Keane's eyes softened at the sight and was about to go after her when Buttercup jumped to her feet next and followed after her sister. Bubbles, too, looked like she wanted to follow, but Ms. Keane merely shook her head. "No, Bubbles, let them work out their anger. They need to."


"You still pissed at me?"

Blossom raised an eyebrow and then went back to meditating. Buttercup sighed heavily as she uncrossed her arms and moved towards her sister. Didn't Blossom understand that this was taking a lot of pride swallowing for Buttercup? Knowing Blossom, she did know that this was killing Buttercup, and she was probably enjoying her pain while she pretended to meditate. The green-eyed girl glanced at her sister, trying to find any hint of a smile, but she didn't. Staring at her sister for a moment, she tried to find the right words to end the tension. There had been nothing but an angry atmosphere between the two sisters for awhile now.

"Are you going to keep giving me a blank stare or are you going to say anything?" Blossom's voice broke the silence. Buttercup tore herself from her thoughts and glanced down at the redhead and into her piercing glare. Despite the fact that her eyes were a soft pink, when she gave a glare, it could be scary. Her small and rosy features were deceiving and it was times like this Buttercup was reminded of Blossom's power. That and not to cross her when she was angry.

"Look…" Buttercup exhaled deeply and glanced around the room. How she hated to say she was sorry. She swallowed and then bit out, "I'm…I'm…I'm…"

"What, Buttercup?" snapped Blossom, her meditation practice slipping through her fingers like water slipping through her cupped hands. Her patience was wearing thin and her sister stuttering was not helping matters as it was. She knew she was being harsh, but Blossom was irritated didn't feel much sympathy. It was not her day, her week, her month, or her year.

"I'm…ugh…I'm sorry, okay?" Buttercup finally cried out. Blossom's eyes flew open and snapped her gaze over to her sister. There, she found her sister looking down at her. There was frustration, no doubt, but there was also sincerity. This was taking a lot out of her, Blossom knew.

Blossom's lips twitched. "I forgive you. I'm sorry also. I shouldn't have been so harsh. I was just worried about you. After all, we only have each other and I don't know what I'd do if I lost either of my sisters. I'm just being overprotective."

"It's okay," Buttercup shrugged.

There was an awkward moment between the two sisters before Blossom sighed and stood up. She stared at her sister briefly before the two girls wrapped each other in a hug. The hug was all that was needed between the two sisters. It was a long, hard fight and the make up between them felt good. The fight was over.

"Are you guys done fighting now?" a new voice asked. The two sisters glanced over their shoulders and found Bubbles grinning widely at them, who finally decided to join them once she persuade her former teacher to let her leave. Buttercup and Blossom laughed as Bubbles skipped over to them and joined in on the hug. The three sisters hugged each other as tightly as they could.


The mere fact that the bodies of the girls were nowhere to be found had bugged him immensely. In fact, it bothered him so much, his whole demeanor had soured completely. Whenever Butch or Boomer acted up, he would snap at them or yell until they behaved. He stalked around the palace, intimidating any servants or staff members that had crossed his path, and overall had affected his home with darkness. Even Mojo seemed like a happy butterfly compared to Brick's foul mood. But if anyone asked why Brick was angry, he would simply glowered and tell them to mind their own business. Eventually everyone got the hint and hoped to God that this anger would die down and he would return to his usual stoic behavior. Because, by God, everyone was treading on eggshells.

Brick, on the other hand, could not fathom or understand the mystery of the girls' bodies disappearance. For some reason, his instincts were telling him that their disappearance was off. That the human slaves did not bury them. Besides, there were no markers. There were always burial markers that guided anyone as to where a person's grave was. Even if it was stick cross or a huge stone, there was something there. But not this time. This time there was nothing. No markers. Not even dirt freshly turned. Boomer and Butch might have missed those small details, but he did not. Now, he had thought, that maybe those girls were not liked.

He didn't know why they were there nor did he know whom those girls were associated with or who created them. He didn't know how long they were up on that rock. He didn't know when they left for that ridiculous rock. He didn't know where they were created. Or better yet…where they were now if they were alive. And more importantly, why did Mojo want them dead? All of which were questions that needed answering.

He knew he needed answers, but without anyone knowing. Mojo would not be happy if he found out that Brick thought those girls were still alive. In fact, he would be downright furious. Not that Brick was scared of him. He just didn't want to deal with Mojo's screeching. It could get on a guy's nerves. And Butch and Boomer would whine and complain to everyone. And that was risky for him. If his brothers whined to everyone – and those girls were alive – then everyone would know and hide those girls. After all, those girls had be to be important if the Rowdyruff Boys were out looking for them and Mojo wanted them dead. He was not stupid. The humans would think that.

So, all in all, computer search engines were out of the question because they could be traced.

He would have to do it 'old school'. He would have to use books and newspaper articles. Meaning he would have to travel downstairs to the Townsville Hall Central Archives. The Archives were a library of books, records (birth, death, marriage, etc.), and newspapers. There, he hoped he would find his answer. Sneaking down wouldn't be a problem. Butch was hanging around the bar lately (looking for girl named Brittany or something like that), and Boomer was either distracted by Amber, the servant girl he had taken a recent liking to, or video games. Mojo would also be easy. The monkey was cooped up in his lab on top of the volcano working on something top secret – not even Brick, himself, could know about what Mojo was working on.

That was another thing that unnerved Brick. Mojo usually told his son of his experiments and projects for Brick's input. The two could go back and forth about theories(It was not a father/son bonding thing, but rather both keeping an eye on each other since they didn't trust the other). They would listen to what one thought was best for Mojo's inventions. Brick was allowed in Mojo's lab at any time. Access to him was unlimited. But this recent year had changed everything. First, Mojo wanted those girls gone (though he wouldn't say why) and lately he had been working on something so confidential Brick was not allowed to step foot in the lab anymore. Whatever it was, though, Brick didn't trust Mojo. This, he would think, was not in the best interest of him or his brothers.

Perhaps, the Archives could answer his questions.

So, as he walked down to the Archives, he thought about what exactly he had to look for. He knew that Mojo had been in rule for about eleven to twelve years. That gave him a timeline to work with. He also knew that the girls and Mojo were somehow connected, therefore he had to find that connection. He needed to find out how Mojo took over the world. He needed to figure why the girls were on that rock. No way in hell did they just appeared out of thin air. They were created. And this, Brick knew, would help him answer all his questions. And his answers were well overdue.

When he entered the room, he immediately skipped several of the first few book cases and filers and headed straight to the row entitled 1995. Since, he figured, he was created eleven years ago and that was when Mojo took control, it would only make sense to start at 1995 and work his way up or down from there. When he got to that specific year, he went through the row until he got to the newspaper column. Opening the filer that the bookcase was rested on, he grabbed most of the newspaper articles and went to the nearest table. He placed the newspapers on the table and shuffled through the first few (which had irrelevant articles of quints being born or a random monster attack) until he got to one interesting article. On the front picture was three little girls that looked like a younger, more naïve, vibrant version of those girls. Taking the article out, he read.


BUG-EYED FREAKS

Yesterday, Monday, September 4, 1995, Townsville suffered a devastating blow from three super-powered girls. Townsville citizens are used to most attacks from monsters and the Mayor is used to paying reparations for the reconstruction and most go about their business. However, yesterday, three girls (identified as Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup Utonium) caused a mayhem many have not experienced for quite awhile. Panic and destruction had followed in their wake everywhere they went.

According to some witnesses, the three girls started their rampage at Pokey Oaks Elementary school, where some students mostly claimed they destroyed their playground and continued on to the rest of the town. And while their motive for devastation has yet to be discovered, the school has suffered over several hundred dollars worth of damages. Ms. Sandra Keane, the Pokey Oaks kindergarten teacher, stated when asked about the girls, "This is all a (sad event for the children)! Those girls (seemed like) good girls!"

Most of the parents of all the child witnesses will not release a statement.

Later, the girls were spotted down one of Townsville's major boulevards, screaming "Tag!" at each other, which could possibly mean they would switch off causing destruction. One witness, Mr. Mackey, had remarked that, "It must've been a code!"

The destruction continued for another twenty minutes before police response was able to arrive at the aid of the citizens. By this time several buildings, including Townsville National Bank, several large corporations and a jewelry store, had been damaged. And while the police did not catch the girls, they were able to identify a man at the scene, putting the girls into his car. Police Chief Hittledee later released his statement to the press that this man was Professor John Utonium, a former science professor at Townsville University, who had been fired when he began talking about creating three perfect little girls. The only relation detectives could give was the fact that the Professor Utonium was seemingly the father figure of these three destructive girls.

Damages are a total of…


Brick glanced up from the paper, wondering what happened next and who, more importantly, was this 'Professor'. He placed that article down, filed through some more, and picked up another short clipping.


MAD SCIENTIST DETAINED

Not a day after the destruction of the city, the Mayor had ordered a search for the madman, Professor John Utonium, the man responsible for the creation of the three freakish girls. Within hours of the order, police forces were able track down the scientist to the Pokey Oaks suburbs where they promptly arrested him. With the help of the Mayor's assistant, Ms. Sara Bellum, the police and their local ADA were able to acquire an arrest warrant to detain Utonium. Around noon on September the fifth, the police dragged out Utonium from his home. He assumed responsibility for the girls and several officers had to keep an angry crowd of citizens and parents from attacking the man. ADA Jefferies had also managed to subpoena some incriminating evidence.

Many doctors of the Psych Ward of Townsville Grace Hospital have declared him somewhat mentally unstable and should remain detained. Whether a trial date has yet to be determined, but…


So this John Utonium was the creator of the girls and he riled up some controversy from their creation. These girls were not liked. Which could explain why there were no burial sites for their bodies. The humans wouldn't have buried them. Which could mean that those girls were alive. But…what happened after the professor was arrested? That still didn't explain how Mojo was connected to them, why he wanted those girls dead or why those girls were up on that rock. This was a past that needed to be uncovered. And that brought up more questions.

Where were John Utonium, Sara Bellum, and Sandra Keane now? Where did they go? Were they dead? Were they in the slave quarters? Were they in hiding? He continued on and found nothing more. There were, in fact, no more articles. That article was the last one.

He got up from his seat, placed the newspapers back in their filer and glanced up. Looking at the bookshelves above, he found absolutely nothing. He did find records that didn't really state the deaths of the three adults, but the records weren't reliable. They weren't always updated correctly or often. Getting aggravated with the lack of answers, he began walking away, feeling the need to blow something up. As he walked away, small voice spoke up, "You know, just gazing at the books won't get you anywhere. Digging deeper could help. Pulling out books might be useful."

Brick whirled around and found a small-framed girl hiding behind the 1994 bookshelf. When he rested his gaze on her, her hazel eyes widened and she disappeared with a squeak. He furrowed his eyebrows and quickly went around the corner of the bookshelf and found her standing very still behind the same shelf. Raising an eyebrow, he snapped, "What did you say?"

She squeaked out in fear. "I'm sorry! Don't hurt me!"

Brick rolled his eyes. Why him? "I'm not going to hurt you. At least…not yet. Not unless you help me. Now, tell me again, what did you say?"

She finally glanced up and looked at him. She bit her bottom lip, as if deep in thought and her small, slender hands reached up for her hair. Her delicate fingers immediately began twirling her auburn hair around them nervously. Finally, she exhaled a small breath and said in her small voice, "Pull the books out. Sometimes papers get shoved carelessly in the back."

He took in what she said and nodded. "Fine. C'mere."

The red 'ruff walked back to the 1995 bookshelf, glancing over his shoulder to find the girl following him obediently. As he began pulling books out mindlessly and dropping them on the floor, he looked at her and asked roughly, "What are you? The Keeper of the Archives?"

"No," she whispered timidly. "I'm her assistant."

He didn't acknowledge her as he pulled out the books. They remained in silence until finally, Brick saw something at the back of the bookshelf. In its place was five combination locks that all read 0…0…0…0…0. He blinked and rose an eyebrow. "What the…"

"Told you," she said quietly. "Try unlocking it."

"It needs a number code of some sort," Brick remarked absentmindedly as he immediately began fiddling with the five dials. He sighed as he pulled away. "And I have no idea where to start. There could be an infinite amount of combinations."

The girl gave a small smile, "Narrow it down. Maybe something important happened in this year. You know, historically or something?"

He nodded and immediately thought of what it could be. He knew it had to be an important day for Mojo since he could assume it was Mojo who put this little hidden safe within the bookshelf. It couldn't be between the twentieth or the twenty-third of August because there was no important event happening for Mojo during those days. Then perhaps the twenty-fourth of August? There were no human newspaper articles on that day. That must've meant something happened to the humans altogether. Immediately, he began spinning the five locks.

9…

0…

8…

9

5…

September 08, '95. And as soon as he put the correct combination in, there was a click and the secret compartment popped open. He squinted when he examined the compartment and pulled out various yellowing papers. Judging by their looks, they had to be at least eleven years to date. He glanced through the papers hastily and with each page turn, his heart pounded in his ears. This was exactly what he was looking for. He glanced up and found the girl had disappeared. He blinked. Wasn't she just here?

No matter…she was of no further use and he couldn't care less if she disappeared. He'd spare her life. She, after all, had helped him find out what he needed. Trailing back over to his table, he sat down and immediately found that there were a couple of notes and diary entries by one Ms. Sara Bellum, Professor John Utonium and…Mojo.

He excitedly pulled out Ms. Bellum's papers first and began reading them.


From the desk of
MAYOR J. MAYOR
As written by
MS. SARA BELLUM
27 September, 1995

This is probably the last amount I can get written without the knowledge of Mojo. It's bad enough that I have no idea where John is. Some say he was imprisoned. Others say he disappeared. How foolish was I! How stupid was I to incriminate John for creating those girls. Now that I realize it, Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup were probably our only chance to save us from this horrible situation. They have the powers and obviously the teamwork. Blossom was easily the leader, or so John told me. And she was intelligent. She could've come up with a plan to help us. Sandy said she had the ability. The girl only had been in school for one day, but already had the intelligence of a middle school student – at the age of five! And she was still growing academically. And now she's wasting her intellect on that rock. A fierce warrior she'd be if she had the capability!

Bubbles had to be the emotion and the heart behind the team. She was sensitive and caring towards others, probably being the voice of reason whenever the other two girls lost their tempers or minds in the heat of the battle. And Buttercup, according to Sandy, was the muscle in the group. She was a powerhouse and sight to behold with that strength! No doubt she could have smacked some sense into Mojo should she have been given the chance.

I have come up with a plan to get the girls to come back, but I can't do it myself. Those girls would never listen to me. I don't even know if they know we placed their father and creator in jail the night before this all happened. I need John in order for this to work, but he disappeared. It's been one week and Sandy and I are alone. She has slipped into some sort of depression. She had spent this whole week worrying about those girls and her school kids. This is all my fault.

I have recently discovered that Mojo is coming up with something. I heard something from one of the servants that are constantly around him that he's planning something. According to her, Mojo has stolen John's research notes for when he created the girls. He's planning to create his own version of the girls. I've managed to confirm this and the difference is, is that he's planning to create boys. The equal opposites of Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup.

Maybe if I hadn't chased away the girls indirectly, we would have the girls here and none of this wouldn't have happened. It's my fault. The humans are in captivity, John is missing, Sandy's in depression, the girls are up in space and I'm stuck here. And to top it off, the Mayor has completely disappeared. The last I heard, he was in the clutches of Mojo. Dear Lord above, this all my fault.

I need to get out of here. I need to get help.


He put the paper down and shuffled through some more papers. He skipped over Professor John Utonium's papers and headed straight for Mojo's. This was exactly what he had wanted to see. So, he brought it up and quickly started reading it over.


29 October, 1995

Preparations for creating the boys are complete. Scientific research had been looked over carefully and I have spent countless of hours researching for this one pivotal moment. I am not foolish. I know for a fact that those pathetic humans are talking about me. They call me paranoid. They call me stupid. But I am not going to take my chances. Utonium is somewhere out there. And that is not good enough for me. Why? Because that is the very man that can call the three people who can end my rule.

It has been two years and that man holds a power over me. He can easily wield and call those girls to him. Even if they are possibly angry at him, they will still come. That is why I did not harm him when my other experiments with my fellow brothers went wrong. If I hurt him, the girls would come running and they would attack and do whatever is necessary to get him back.

Those girls hold a power that I fear. They have the complete ability to take me down. Buttercup has the fierce strength that never dies. She could beat me without even breaking a sweat if she wanted to. She is tough and unrelenting. Bubbles is quick. She could slip through my fingers and disappear from my sight quicker than anything on this planet. Practically a ghost. And Blossom…yes, I fear Blossom the most. Not only does she have a fierce attitude and she's quick on her feet, but she is intelligent. In a blink of an eye, I can tell she can come up with a plan. I must do everything to suppress them, to suppress her.

That is why I am creating the boys. I have figured out ways to make the boys the complete equals and opposites of those girls. If the boys are equal, then that will delay the girls in coming for me. My sons will be just as tough, just as quick, and even more intelligent. The boys will be everything that those girls are not. They will get rid of those girls.


Brick frowned. So he and his brothers were merely created to get rid of the girls. He was bothered by that, but accepted it nonetheless. Mojo had a reason. Him and his brothers were lucky enough that Mojo kept them around after the girls had supposedly died. Of course, it could be that Mojo was just terrified of them. And another thing, Mojo seemed to be terrified of this 'Blossom' girl. He could only assume that she was his counterpart. He continued on to the next note. It was John Utonium's.


From the desk of
MAYOR J. MAYOR
As written by
JOHN UTONIUM
3 March, 1996

Sara,

I had to steal the Mayor's papers when I left so I could write this. I feel somewhat bad that I had to leave you and Sandy behind, but it must be done. I know you are blaming yourself right now, but you must understand it is not your fault that this happened. I should have believed the girls when they said they had no idea what Mojo had in store. But I guess it goes back to before this all started. Before the girls were even created. I shouldn't have kept Jojo. Or better yet, I shouldn't have even let Jojo into the lab. But I had felt so bad for the monkey. He lost his mother and he needed someone to care for him. And I took him in.

And then he got caught up in the blast. He was so close to the bowl and I was too terrified of the chemical reaction in the bowl to pull him away. Had I pulled him away then maybe his genes wouldn't have been mutated and his brain wouldn't have expanded. And his intelligence levels wouldn't have shot up. He wouldn't have ceased being Jojo. He wouldn't have become Mojo Jojo. This, truly and utterly, is my fault. I should have paid more attention and then none of this would have happened. But that is beside the point. It is far from the point.

The point is, is that I have…


Brick's cell phone had vibrated in his pocket. He brought it out and saw that the call identification had read 'BOOMER'. He picked up the phone and Boomer immediately started talking, not allowing Brick to get a word in. "Hey, Mojo wants you to get ready. The horse event is going to start in an hour and he'll start screeching if you're not here when we leave."

"Yeah, yeah," Brick muttered and shut his phone. "Damn horse race."

Sighing in aggravation, he got up and placed the papers back inside the little compartment where he found the aging papers. He shut the compartment and walked away. As he was about to exit the room, he glanced back and noticed no one was in the room. Shaking his head, he continued on, oblivious to the little, mousy assistant still in the room.


"That was smooth."

Blossom situated her hair. She had just spent the past couple of minutes hiding from Brick. She knew it was risky that he got to those papers first, but she also knew that he needed to unlock that secret compartment. During this past week and half that Miyuki was gone, she had managed to sneak into the Townsville Central Archives and Bubbles had landed her a position as Ms. Torres' assistant. Throughout the duration of the week, Blossom had discovered a secret compartment. And she knew she needed Brick to get into it.

She had spent a majority of her time trying to figure out how to get Brick downstairs into the Archives, but had failed at coming up with a plan that seemed believable. She was lucky when Brick came down all on his own. She had quickly managed to get him to open the compartment as he walked away. Now, he was placing the papers back and once she was sure he was gone, she was going to get what she needed.

She waited for several moments before she heard the click of the Archives' main door shutting and started moving. As soon as she got to the compartment, she began moving the books out of the way. She quickly moved the locks and let the compartment pop open. She yanked out the papers and quickly shuffled through them. She found her father's note and read over it. Finally she got to the part she wanted.


is that I have a plan. I have met up with three teachers that have agreed to train the girls. I have a plan to send out a message to space that will convince the girls to allow all of us – me included – to correct all of our mistakes and make this right. We were all wrong. Me, most of all, for not teaching the girls. And now we can have our chance. The teachers have agreed to teach the girls to fight properly and one has agreed to take on the girls individually to hone their skills. One will teach Buttercup to calm her temper, the other for Bubbles to use her emotions effectively, and the last to better Blossom's intelligence.

If all goes according to plan then we can take back our town, our home and our lives. I can only hope that all goes well. Promise me, Sara, that you will keep Sandy safe and well. As soon as I can, I will get both you and her out of there. I'll probably need your and Sandy's help in order to convince the girls. They're probably mad at me. Knowing Buttercup, she's more than likely the most mad. And I don't blame her. Bubbles will be easy to help. We'll have to worry about Buttercup and Blossom.

Keep safe, Sara,

John


She nodded and took the papers. She looked over the others and found that there was nothing that she needed from them. Placing them back into the compartment the way she found them, she immediately began walking away. Once she was sure that she was completely alone (after all, the walls have ears), she said quietly to her sisters, "Buttercup, get me into that horse race."

"Done."

Backing away from her work, she moved to the back of a makeshift bed she made to make it appear like she lived here. Moving a bookshelf, she revealed a hole that she made when she broke into the place. Going through, and making sure to hide the hole behind her, Blossom escaped out of the tunnel and made her way towards the horse race. Her mission was not complete. She now had to get Brick's attention on her.